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Questions remain for nutrition program

Posted
Friday, April 19, 2019 11:43 am

BY JIM HERRIN

Officials with the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency continue to look for options to secure the longterm viability of the agency's nutrition program, which provides meals to senior citizens around the area.

"We've been losing money on the program," said UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley. "(But) I don't want to push that off on the communities. That's not my goal."

Farley said he has been in contact with senior centers around the region, trying to gauge whether they would be interested in taking over the program.

"If there are some counties out there (that) can continue offering that better service, that hot home-delivered meal, we owe it to those clients to see," he said. "At the end of the day, if it doesn't work for you, we understand because it's not working for us."

According to the agency's website, the goal of the program is to "provide persons age 60 and over and individuals with disabilities a nutritious noon meal either in a group setting or in their home ... 5-7 days a week."

He said senior centers or other non-profit groups may be able to offer the hot meals without incurring the overhead costs inherent to the UCHRA. If they cannot, Farley says the agency may have to switch to providing hot meals only at "congregant" sites like the senior centers while delivering frozen meals to individual senior homes, perhaps on a weekly basis.

Overton County Executive Ben Danner said he preferred not to do that.

"Part of the service of Meals on Wheels is somebody checking on that person every day," he said. "I do not want to go to once a week delivery, but I don't know how we can do it without losing (money) either."

Other advocates have noted that many seniors are disabled and would not be capable of heating up meals on their own, adding that some may not even have microwave ovens to do so.

Six counties have expressed interest so far in possibly taking on the service, but some county mayors criticized Farley for going first to the senior centers without involving county government directly.

"I understand that we probably could have done it a better way," Farley said. "I apologize for that."

He told the mayors that the idea was to see if there was any interest at all on the local level before making substantial program changes.

"Before we make that transition to those frozen meals, I want to be able to look at the client and say, 'Listen, we tried every option there was out there,' " he said.

He also emphasized that county governments should not be required to allocate any additional funding.

"We're going to get to a point where we're going to know if it makes sense or not," he said. "If it does not make sense for you, we're not holding you to (maintaining the program). We're just asking you to look at it, and if you can do it and provide that better service."